Italy reports 522 coronavirus deaths on Thursday, 17,246 new cases

Reuters
·1 min read
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: New Year's Day in Rome

ROME (Reuters) - Italy reported 522 coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, against 507 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 17,246 from 15,774.

Some 160,585 swab tests were carried out in the past day, against a previous 175,429.

Italy has registered 80,848 COVID-19 deaths since the virus came to light last February, the second-highest toll in Europe and the sixth-highest in the world. The country has also reported 2.336 million cases to date, the health ministry said.

Patients in hospital with COVID-19 - not including those in intensive care - stood at 23,110 on Thursday, down 415 from a day earlier.

There were 164 new admissions to intensive care units, against 165 the day before. The total number of intensive care patients fell by 22 to 2,557.

When Italy's second wave of the epidemic was accelerating quickly in the first half of November, hospital admissions were rising by about 1,000 per day, while intensive care occupancy was increasing by around 100 per day.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Gavin Jones)